A Leetchi kitty was created by the Friends of François Truffaut association, relaying an initiative by Serge Toubiana, president of Unifrance and friend of the actor.
He marked a generation of spectators in the role of Antoine Doinel, from the film the four hundred Blows by Francois Truffaut. Today, Jean-Pierre Léaud, 79, is in financial and personal difficulty, according to his relatives. A Leetchi kitty “support and recognition for Jean-Pierre Léaud” was created by the Friends of François Truffaut association, and has already collected nearly 9,000 euros.
“Despite an exceptional career, Jean-Pierre is going through a difficult time on a moral, physical and material level”, explain the organizers on the Leetchi site. “His friend, Serge Toubiana, a witness to this worrying situation, has just decided to mobilize his many contacts in the world of cinema and to appeal to their generosity. The funds he will collect will be entirely paid to Jean-Pierre and Brigitte [Duvivier, son épouse, ndlr] to meet medical needs, rest and no doubt administrative and living assistance.”
The Friends of François Truffaut association thus publicly relays an initiative by Serge Toubiana, boss of UniFrance, the organization in charge of promoting French cinema internationally, and former director of the Cinémathèque française. The latter would have worried about the state of his friend on his return from the Cannes Film Festival, details the Parisian. “I went to see him at his house and it was very difficult to cheer him up. He didn’t get up anymore, he says on a daily basis. Serge Toubiana then chooses to solicit his network in the world of cinema to help the actor.
Cult actor of the New Wave
Discovered by François Truffaut at the age of 14, and present in all the films of the saga of Antoine Doinel (including Stolen Kisses) Jean-Pierre Léaud has become a cult actor of his generation, associated with the New Wave movement. He notably worked with Jean Cocteau (The Testament of Orpheus), Jean-Luc Godard (Male female, American night, Detective) or even Pier Paolo Pasolini (Pigsty).
In 2016, he received a Palme d’honneur at the Cannes Film Festival in tribute to his entire career. He returned to the Croisette in 2022, then physically diminished, for the screening of The Mom and the Whoreby Jean Eustache, another of his cult films.